Wind, Sun, Whirlpool
by Slip Slowly Into Madness
Summary: They had made a mistake. A grievous error. One that cost them their friends... their precious Nakama. Yet, another mistake may be their redemption. When captured, and given only the choice to be test subjects, they can do nothing else, but hope for the best. (A time travel fiction).
1. Chapter 1

**Wind, Sun, Whirlpool**

by

 **S.S.I.M**

* * *

Summary: They had made a mistake. A grievous error. One that cost them their friends... their precious Nakama. Yet, another mistake may be their redemption. When captured, and given only the choice to be test subjects, they can do nothing else, but hope for the best. (A time travel fiction)

* * *

 _ **Prologue: One Wish**_

* * *

Bound, gagged, shackled to cold unyielding stone walls.

How had it come to this?

To this breaking captivity.

Everything had been going so well. They had defeated Doflamingo in Dressrosa and got seemingly away. Yet, they had been tricked.

The marine fleet they had believed to have escaped from had been but a small part of a much larger contingent that had laid in wait further up their path.

In the cover of the night, they converged on their ship. Armed with specialized tranquilizer darts, that had been coated in sea-stone, several brave marines stormed the Thousand Sunny.

Perhaps if they hadn't been so tired from the events in Dressrosa the outcome could have been very different.

Disoriented and overwhelmed, they had been easy pickings once the heavy hitters had been tagged. Luffy had been the first one down. His chest littered with blue-tinged darts full of sedatives.

It wasn't long before the rest had been drugged and captured.

A short while later, they had woken up in sea-stone cages to the sight of a grinning marines.

They were to be the new lab rats for Dr. Vegapunk; never to see the shimmering sea again, never to taste the sweet bliss of freedom and salt on the wind.

Usopp shed bloody tears as he had begged his captain and friends forgiveness for falling asleep while on watch. None of them had the chance to say they forgave him before a nameless marine put a bullet through his head. He blamed himself until the end.

It had been a warning to the rest. If they so much as toed an inch out of line, they would suffer the same fate as their beloved sniper.

The infamous Straw-hat Pirates had been defeated.

Luffy looked on helplessly as they carted his shipwright off to the unknown deeps of their prison. Franky was never seen again.

Chopper and Brook had been next. One day they had woken up to find there was two missing cages in the iron tight room. The lovable doctor and silly musician were never returned.

Then the inevitable happened.

The remaining crew had been split up at long last. Nami and Robin were taken. The three men had seethed and rattled at their cages as the proclaimed Monster Trio saw two more members of their crew disappear out the steel door.

Once they were gone, other marines came in and finally took them out of those abominable cages to only shackle them to the walls of their prison.

Time passed, yet they had no clue just how much of it did. There was no window in the grey room. Only a single bulb provided light. The air was stagnant and suffocating.

Their meager, tasteless meals were brought at erratic times and they all knew it was drugged to keep them weak and compliant. Something that Sanji despised as a cook. Yet, he had known starvation and ate his food, as did Zoro and Luffy, without complaint once the hunger grew too strong.

Luffy watched as the once fiery eyes of his strong Nakama dimmed, and faded slowly day by day.

He hated it.

They were losing hope of one day being free. If he was honest with himself, so was he.

He hated this uselessness.

Hated that he had been yet again too weak to save his precious friends.

It reminded him of how he felt when Ace had died.

He wanted nothing more than to take it all back; to go back to the beginning and start it all over again.

What he wouldn't give to relive that one moment in his life where everything changed.

The day he ate the Gum Gum Fruit.

He wanted to beat that no good mountain bandit, and make sure Shanks never lost his arm.

To train harder and be strong enough to prevent his brother Sabo from leaving them. He had always wished to be a pirate, yet he never became one.

How Luffy loathed to think about his other great failure. Ace. His brother, Ace. He had died to protect him.

Now, he was trapped in a cell with no knowledge if his other crewmates were even alive.

A failure... that was all he was.

He didn't sail to the end of the New World.

He couldn't protect his Nakama.

He wasn't going to become the King of the Pirates.

He had failed them. Everyone who had ever placed their trust in him, he had failed them.

After he had made that earth shattering acceptance, Luffy couldn't remember how long it was before the iron door opened once again and the one man responsible for their captivity was before them for the first time.

"I hope you three have been enjoying this lovely accommodations."

A bitter silence fell between them. No one uttered a word. They didn't have the strength, but to only weakly glare at the man.

"Oh, not going to speak now are you? Well, that's all for the better. Wouldn't want you three to struggle now would we."

He waved his hand and three darts shot out from behind him.

As the most feared trio slowly lost consciousness, they heard their jailer mumble one final sentence under his breath. "I never wished to do such things, but my hands are tied Strawhats. I hope you'll forgive me someday."

* * *

Pain was the first thing that their fogged brains were able to register, then slowly a faint beeping noise began to sound clearer and clearer as their languid bodies acclimated to their sudden awakening.

Their entire bodies felt as if they were on fire. They were also so very tired, and weak. If they could, the Monster Trio wished to sleep and forget the past weeks of their imprisonment.

A light breeze ruffled their greasy, unkempt hair; caressed their dirt streaked faces. The air was fresh. It was so beautifully clean that they inhaled deep breaths to reassure themselves that it wasn't tortuously stale as before.

Gradually, they blinked open their eyes and winced at the vicious attack of light on them. Adjusting to it, they each tried to relax their stiff bodies to immediately realize that they were no longer bound.

Their aching limbs laid free of shackles at their sides. With arms as heavy as lead, the feared monster trio steadied themselves upright on their battered arms.

A wave of pain flooded their senses. Holding their aching heads, the three pushed themselves into a sitting position, wincing even more as their bodies hurt much more than their burning retinas.

This room was different they concluded as the room came into a shaky focus. A cold concrete floor laid beneath them. The walls a lifeless, striking white. It was incredibly bright, forcing the trio to squint.

They rubbed their sore spots, all the while confusion reflected onto their features and disturbing their thoughts.

There was a small clicking sound and a booming, raspy voice echoed from over head.

"Straw-Hat Luffy, Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, and Black Leg Sanji. I, Dr. Vegapunk, am giving you three the chance of a lifetime. You only have to accept my offer."

An explosion of anger rushed through the blond haired cook. "There's no way, we'll agree to anything shitty scum like you ask!" Sanji fumed as he struggled to get to his feet as futile as that was at the current moment.

Forcing the pain from his protesting limbs, the raven haired captain managed to stand himself on his knees. "Where's the rest of my crew? Tell me you bastard!" Luffy demanded, his face scowled in a fearsome glare as he searched for the source of the voice in the vacant room.

"Now, now. Settle down. We don't have much time Straw-Hats."

Zoro t'ched, his already short patience beginning to thin. "Time? What are you talking about?"

A sharp cough caught their attention. "Yes, well you see. I didn't want to capture you, but as a show of good faith to the Marines, I had to keep you and the rest of your crew contained here in my lab."

Luffy's lips thinned into a straight line as his eyes darken. He once again asked with a much more dangerous tone, "Where are our friends?!"

Vegapunk could only sigh, his tone more resigned as he spoke, "Your friends are no longer with us."

Dread filled his heart and his blood ran cold at the answer. He vaguely heard the choked gasps of his two remaining crew mates beside him. "No, you're lying! They can't be dead!"

Even as he spurned the doctor's words, the rubber-man felt pain wash a new within him. His chest ached at the thought of his precious Nakama meeting their end.

He had already lost Usopp. He didn't know how much more loss he could take.

Before Luffy could respond, chuckling echoed all around them, causing the three tense pirates to stiffen even further.

"Oh no, my boy, they aren't dead. They're simply not here in my lab anymore, I mean to say."

Luffy's eyes widened as relief flooded through him. "Then where are they?"

"At the new marine headquarters in the New World. I'm afraid I don't know the exact location. Yet, it would hardly do you three any good since as of tomorrow you three will be pronounced dead an-"

Outraged exclamations from the trio of pirate's cut off the doctor.

Vegapunk waited until they calmed down before resuming, "You didn't let me finish. Such impatience..." He scolded them and then continued, "Now as I was saying, tomorrow you three will be taken by the Marines. However, I have perfected a new artificial devil fruit."

The genius inventor paused a moment expecting to hear another bout of exclamations, but upon hearing none he resumed, "You three are going to eat it."

It was then that the trio was riled up exponentially. Sanji's incensed sentence catching the doctor's attention. "What, you shitty bastard!? A devil fruits power can't be shared by three people! Besides, Luffy already has one!"

The sudden sound of a booming snap shut them up.

Having gotten them to quiet, Vegapunk spoke once again. "Ah yes, but this is no ordinary Devil Fruit. No, this beauty is my ultimate creation, the 'Time-Time Fruit'!"

The green haired swordsman frowned, his instincts ringing alarm bells at him. "Time-Time Fruit? What does it do?"

"It allows the user to travel back in time. Amazing isn't it?"

A disbelieving snort escaped the blond chef. "More like impossible. You're insane, you damn old man."

Even though the trapped Straw-Hats couldn't see the doctor, they just knew he must have been sulking. He had stopped talking to them. The silent treatment it seemed.

Zoro and Sanji rolled their sunken eyes at the older man's childish actions. If he didn't want to talk then that was fine by them.

The silence stretched on until Luffy's voice broke it. "Can it really? Will it really send us back?"

"Yes, it can."

Luffy frowned at the quick assertion. "How can you be so sure? Has someone already ate it before?"

"Well, yes. Someone has."

Now, intrigued Zoro jumped in. "Who?"

"I have."

Sanji sneered. "Bullshit! You just said you had perfected it!"

The aged doctor cleared his throat before responding, "What I meant is that I had found a way for more than one person to travel back. It's much more difficult than just doing it for one you know." Vegapunk huffed.

Luffy slowly nodded, a skeptical look on his face. "Alright, let's say you're telling us the truth. How does it work?"

"I'm glad you asked. The fruit uses the consumers willpower. Their Haki so to say. The stronger the resolve, the further back one can travel."

"What happens once we're back? Do we keep our older bodies?" Zoro couldn't help but ask. He really wanted to have both his eyes working again.

An amused chuckle left Vegapunk at the inquiry. "No, your physical bodies remain here in this time. Your souls merge with your past selves. All the memories and experiences you have go with you."

The room grew silent once more. This crazed scientist may very well be telling them the truth.

The swordsman and the cook were at a loss of words. Sanji hesitantly opened his mouth to say something, but Luffy beat him to it.

"I'll eat it. If there's a chance to go back and change all this, I'll take it!"

Seeing the familiar burning resolve in their dark haired captain's eyes, Zoro and Sanji shared a knowing glance before twin smirks appeared on their faces. They nodded in agreement. What else could they do, but follow their captains lead.

"Excellent! Now one more thing. Don't let anyone know you're from the future. My fruit is unknown to the World Government and I would like to keep it that way. With that said, on the table behind you is the fruit."

Surprised, they looked behind and were shocked to see three bright yellow swirly fruits on a wooden table, a table that hadn't been there a few minutes ago.

Pushing the furnitures sudden appearance from their mind, the remaining Straw-Hat pirates picked up the palm sized fruit.

They turned and faced each other.

Luffy hummed pensively. "I'm going back to the day I ate my devil fruit, so I won't meet you guys until ten years from then."

A wistful smirk quirked at Sanji's lips. "Ten years then... That's ironic. Around that time, the shitty geezer opened up the Baratie. That's when I decided to go back."

Zoro sighed and met his friends gaze's with determination burning in his eyes. "For me, it'll be about eleven. I'm going to prevent Kuina's death."

A wide, genuine grin filled with hope and excitement bloomed on the famed Straw-Hat captain. "We'll have to train harder than ever before. So be ready! I'll find you guys like I did the first time, and then we'll head for the grandline to find the rest of our Nakama!"

Sanji and Zoro gave the grinning man a nod of agreement with confident grins of their own.

With that promise, they each were about to take that fateful bite of the yellow life changing fruit when Vegapunk stopped them.

"Hold on! Straw-Hat, you're going back twelve years?"

Luffy nodded. "Yeah. That's right!"

"Then as a gift for the hurt I've caused your crew, go to Wasure Island in the East Blue. There a guard will ask you for a code. Tell them Code Override 1062."

Luffy nodded, a part of him growing in excitement at the prospect of a new island. "What happens after that?"

"The guard will take you to your gift. I suggest you go before... umm... Let's see here..."

The rustling of papers and rummaging through drawers echoed loudly through their room.

"Oh, yes, here it is. Now, go before November seventh in the year of your tenth birthday or your gift will no longer be there. I wish you luck Straw-Hats and if you ever come across me again please tell my past self that experiment TTX-3 was successful."

The trio agreed and with one final departing grin, the three bit into the fruit.

* * *

In a flash, a blinding light consumed them and then the world turned dark.

He felt like he was floating. Just aimlessly lingering in the air with no direction, no purpose... Only simply being.

It was so peaceful, so amazing. He didn't want it to end, but like all good things it did.

Reality came crashing down on him all at once.

A seven-year old Luffy suddenly snapped his head up in surprise. He looked up at his surroundings with wide eyes, curious to see where he arrived. It was a tavern filled with drunken pirates chugging down sake and a certain green haired bartender staring at him with worried eyes. His own orbs widened to the size of saucers.

Party's Bar.

And then he heard it. A rough boisterous voice he hadn't heard in what seemed like ages. He was forced to hold back bittersweet tears at the sight of the man who gave him the first push towards his dream.

Red-haired Shanks.

"Yo, Luffy! You alright there buddy? You just suddenly fell asleep, what gives?" Shanks dark eyes peered down at him with concern.

The youngest Monkey couldn't stop the wide grin that formed across his face.

He was back.

Vegapunk's fruit had actually done it. Over a decade back in the past and Luffy knew that now he would prevent the fatal end his crew had met. This time everything was going to be different!

"Shanks! The weirdes-" Yet before the time-traveling captain could continue he was cut off when the tavern doors were slammed open. The room became silent at the sudden intrusion.

A scruffy, samurai looking bandit swaggered in followed by a gaggle of men. Luffy glared at him, the man who tried to kill him as a child and tried to humiliate Shanks, but forced himself to ignore him. This part of his life he could care little for at the moment.

He turned around instead in search of the chest that contain his future devil fruit. The purple swirling fruit was located right about where he remembered it being.

Luffy took a big bite of it the moment Higuma, the mountain bandit, slashed the bar counter.

Anger was beginning to form within him as he was forced to watch his past replay before him. He couldn't reveal his strength yet and continued to munch on the fruit. The taste was just as horrid as he remembered and he briefly wondered why he had ate it all even after tasting just how awful it was. _'My kid self sure was dumb...'_

Once the confrontation between Shanks and Higuma ended, the mountain bandit left with thundering steps. The red haired pirate picked himself up from the ground while his ever helpful crew laughed at the sight of him dripping in sake and covered in glass slivers.

After the bandit's mockery, Shanks expected Luffy to speak out in anger, but the boy was oddly quiet during the whole exchange. He turned his curious eye's towards him and his stomach plummeted when he saw the empty chest in front of his young friend. _'He didn't...'_

"Eh? Shanks you okay?" Luffy asked with a tilt of his head. He knew exactly what was going through the Yonko's head, but he remembered what the crazy doctor had instructed them.

No one could know that they were from the future. If the bandits hadn't interrupted when they did, the former Straw-Hat captain knew he would have spilled the beans. He almost had actually.

Shanks grabbed him and shook him roughly by the shoulders. "Luffy, did you eat that fruit inside the chest?"

"Yeah! It tasted terrible though." The raven head scrunched his nose at the reminder of the repulsive flavor.

"No! That was the Gum Gum Devil Fruit! You'll never be able to swim again!" Then the worried pirate, tipped the boy upside down and shook him like a rag doll. "Spit it out, now!"

Yet, it was all futile as Luffy's body fell towards the ground leaving stretched rubbery legs still being held in Shanks calloused hands.

Ever eye in the bar widen in shock at the sight. Luffy laughed and bounced himself up and down like a paddle ball. "This is awesome!"

Shanks smacked him over the head. "You dumbass!"

All the while Luffy's joyful laughter echoed throughout the room.

* * *

 **Hello! I'm new to this whole fanfiction thing. I've read plenty, but never wrote my own. Yet, I have written stories before so hopefully my story won't be filled with errors.**

 **I recently got into this whole One Piece fandom and I can now say that I regret not getting into it sooner. I missed out on a lot. So yes, this is another time travel fic, but I aim to make it at the very least a decent one!**

 **Now I also want to point out that this story will include a larger crew than the original. Plus, I cry bloody tears just thinking about Ace's death so that's not happening here. My heart wouldn't be able to take it!**

 **Well that's all for now. Please let me know what you think and have a super fantastic day (or night)! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One**

* * *

The seas were calm and crystal blue, the sun was bright and shining, the gentle breeze was ruffling the leaves of the coastal trees ever so slightly.

It was a great day to go sailing.

Luffy waved off the departing Red-haired Pirates with a nostalgic smile on his face. How he wished to go back out into that great sea.

 _'Ten years. I have ten years to get stronger. I guess I'm going to have to do a lot of planning. I can't let things continue as they did in the future.'_

Luffy sighed and left the dock, his black orbs took in the buildings and people he hadn't seen in over a decade. With a wide smile, he ran down the streets waving and greeting people as he went.

He stopped running when he came to a cliff. Sitting himself on the grassy edge he lost himself in thought. Luffy wished he had been smart enough to remember all the little details of his young life, but his mind just blanked out on anything that hadn't been deemed important.

If he'd known he was going to be time traveling, he would have payed a lot more attention to the world around him.

There was so many things he had to change and at the same time make sure that others weren't changed for the worse because of the choices he made. A headache was beginning to throb in his temple just thinking about all those what ifs. Things were much easier when he had just gone with the flow of things. ' _But look where that got me...'_ He sighed remorsefully.

As the sun climbed higher and higher into the sky, Luffy knew two things.

One: He had to save Ace.

Two: His crew had to join him again, all of them. Thankfully, he could already count on Zoro and Sanji to help him with this.

He still didn't quite know what he should do regarding Sabo. One half of him wanted to prevent him from joining his father's revolutionary army and the other half knew just how many great things his blond brother had accomplished as the second in command.

It was going to have to be one of those things he'd decide the moment he had to cross that bridge. Though he knew for sure that he wouldn't let him lose his memories like he did the first time. He could leave the choice to go or not up to his blond brother.

As much as he wanted to, he knew there were things that would have to play out as they did before. It had shaped him, his nakama, and his brothers to be the people they would become in the future.

Luffy recalled the words Shanks once told him, _**"One must know both victory and defeat to become a real man."**_

As a young boy and a pirate, he had known both those things. Sabo, Ace, and him had grown up too fast, but it was necessary. Their world was cruel; especially to those of the tainted bloodlines.

Luffy reached behind him and pulled from his back pocket a brown leather book. Its pages blank with a pen stuck inside. He was happy to have thought of asking Makino for something to write on before he left to see Shanks off.

That morning he had remembered Vegapunks last words. Luffy knew he had a terrible memory and decided it was better to write the doctor's words down before he forgot.

In his still barely legible handwriting, he wrote on the first page:

Wasure Island, November 7th before 10th birthday. Code Override 1062. Tell old crazy doc, TTX-3 worked.

Short and simple. Now he wouldn't forget.

As he looked over his work, Luffy grinned as an idea hit him and started to jot down on the next few pages all he remembered from his past.

Starting from when that no good bandit had captured him and Shanks had to go and save him. He had filled half of the book when he finally stopped writing. He got to the part of his pirate adventure where Ace was to be executed.

This was one story, he didn't wish to write.

Tears were starting to sting at the memory of Akainu's magma covered hand through his brothers chest. He hated that man more than anyone in the world. Ace had died because of that damned marine and his distorted sense of justice.

Luffy rubbed his red rimmed eyes and put his book away. He stood up and dusted off his blue shorts before starting the trek back to Makino's bar for dinner. The sun was starting to set over the watery horizon and Luffy knew that the green haired woman worried about him if he was out late by himself.

His eyes became warm and a smile appeared on his face. His grandpa may have been a jerk, but at the very least he put him in the care of a very loving person.

Several days later, Luffy was sitting at the bar counter eating his lunch while Makino did the daily chores.

"They've been away for a while Luffy. Do you feel lonely?"" Makino ask putting down the glass she was drying and picked up a different one.

Luffy sat on his stool and shook his head. His mouth filled with tasty meat.

"Really? I thought that you wanted to join his crew and go on adventures."

Swallowing, Luffy answered, "Nope! I'm going to have my own crew someday and then I'll go on lots of even more awesome adventures!" With that proclamation, he downed the last of his drink and asked for more.

Makino slid a fresh glass of juice toward Luffy, an amused smile on her pretty face. Unknown to her was the serious thoughts going through the young seven year old's head.

 _'Today is the day Shanks gets back. That means Higuma is coming.'_

Now, the young captain was at a crossroads. He could either let things play out like last time, except the part where he lets himself get taken out to sea and Shanks deals with him or he takes down Higuma himself and claims his bounty.

He was leaning more towards the latter. The bandits bounty money could be the start of his pirate fund for his crew. Luffy snorted as he realized that his money driven, orange haired navigator had managed to rub off on him. Such things wouldn't have crossed his mind otherwise.

Luffy placed his palm against his cheek only to wince when he felt a sharp pain.

"Still hurts, huh?" Makino hummed as she took his injured cheek in hand and inspected the bandaged scar under his left eye. Luffy nodded absentmindedly.

' _I got this ages ago, before I even met Ace and Sabo.'_ His thoughts came to a halt when behind him the twin doors swung open.

Makino and Luffy turned toward the doors, scowls already forming on their brows at the entering patrons.

"Well, looks like those pathetic pirates aren't here today, boys. It's nice and quiet."

Higuma slinked toward a table with his group in tow.

"Well? What are you waiting for? We're customers!" Higuma slammed his arm onto the table with a bang. "Bring us some sake, woman!"

So, the second option it was then.

The next few minutes were like a blur and suddenly Luffy found himself in the harbour, surrounded by mountain bandits. However, to the bandits annoyance and surprise, the young raven head wasn't showing an ounce of fear.

Even though his seven year old body was nowhere as strong as his adult self, Luffy knew how to attack and waited for the ideal moment to strike. They could cage him in all they wanted, but Luffy knew he would win. After all, an eight million bounty against a former 500 million one gave testament to their strength, future or otherwise.

Higuma kicked Luffy to the ground, "People were drinkin' and havin' a nice time. What's the big idea, brat?"

"I won't allow you to speak such trash about Shanks!"

"Did I say something to offend you?" said the leader as he inched closer, trying to instill some terror in the boy yet failing to do so.

"You did! Now apologize, you bastard!"

"What a hopeless little kid." The tall man drew the cutlass sword from the scabbard that hung by his hip under his trench coat and pointed it at Luffy's neck.

"You know I can't let anyone who's pissed me off live. Too bad for you, little brat."

Luffy growled and began to throw more insults and curses at him.

"You oughta watch your mouth, boy." he said as he made to jab his sword forward only to scream in pain as a child sized fist upper cutted him.

The crowd that had formed around the fight dropped their jaws in awe. None of them had expected the boy to have such a powerful punch.

Humiliated and enraged, Higuma and his men all launched themselves at the young boy. Only to be rendered unconscious by a Haki infused rubber leg that stretched and got them all in one fell swoop.

Luffy stood lightly panting in front of the pile of knocked out bandits with a victorious grin on his face. Dusting his hands off, Luffy turned around and finally saw the dumbstruck looks on the people gathered around.

The more alarming sight was that Shanks and the rest of the Red-Haired pirates were speechless as well, having arrived as Luffy landed a solid hit to Higuma's jaw.

No one said or did anything for about a minute except stare at Luffy with dumbfounded expressions.

Luffy was confused. "What?" he asked, feeling uncomfortable with all the stares.

Shanks was currently deep in thought at what just happened. _'No way… the force in that punch… it couldn't be… but… I know I sensed it… Haki….'_

Luffy remained silent until Shanks walked up to him and knelt down to his level.

"Luffy, do you know what you just did?"

A frown appeared on the boy's face as he thought back on what happened. _'I just beat up those jerks. That shouldn't be so weird...'_ Then he remembered he was no longer his 19 year old self.

He was seven.

No seven year old should be able to beat up grown men with such ease.

Hiding back a wince, Luffy recalled that in his last move he had imbued his leg with his Haki. Something that Shanks and the rest of his crew would have noticed being pirates from the New World.

He was relieved that he hadn't used his Conquerors Haki. That would have made the situation ten times worse.

Now, how was he going to get out of this problem without breaking his promise to Vegapunk.

"You knocked ten men unconscious in one move. That's something only certain full-grown adults can do. How did you do something like that?" Shanks inquired.

It was time to play the innocent, naive child card.

The young Luffy looked at the bloody pile then back at Shanks, and then shrugged. "I dunno. I just got so mad that those guys disrespected me and you guys. I just hit them."

He glanced once more at the downed bandits and rubbed the back of his head self-consciously, sweating slightly. "But I guess I don't know my own strength." He nervously chuckled. Luffy prayed that he bought his little white lie.

Shanks still couldn't believe his eyes. A boy no older than seven had used Haki like a natural. He was amazed to say the least at this development as he sensed the might of this small boy. He knew that only a select few were able to use the ability the young boy had just displayed.

And here he thought he had seen it all... The world still held many mysteries after all it seemed.

With a groan, the red headed Yonko ran a distressed hand down his face. "I need a drink."

The rest of his crew were in agreement as well as the shocked villagers. Yet, as Shanks led Luffy back to Makino's bar, his first mate, Benn, pulled him to the side, leaving the job to escort the boy to Yasopp.

Once they were alone, Benn leveled a serious gaze at his captain.

"He used Haki didn't he?"

Shanks nodded, a distance look in his eyes.

The red headed Yonko sighed and gazed forlornly toward the lit tavern. "This changes things, Benn. I'll need to think things over. In the meantime, take one of the lads without a bounty on their heads and turn in those sorry lots for their bounties. We'll give the money to Anchor as a reward. It's not everyday you meet such a young Haki user after all." Shanks chuckled and shared an bemused grin with his black haired friend.

"Aye, Captain."

While Benn and a nondescript member of the Red-Haired pirates went off to do as Shanks ordered, the redhead himself sat down with Luffy at the counter of the empty bar. Makino had been wise enough to close down her bar early and take a much needed nap after such an eventful day.

"Now, Luffy what you used on those bandits was something called Haki." Shanks began to explain.

Seeing he had the boy's attention, he continued, "It isn't something that's common to find in this part of the sea. I want you to promise me that you'll be careful using this. It could be very dangerous for you and it would be better if you didn't use it at all unless you had someone to train you in it."

Luffy blinked innocently and mentally smirked as he asked, "Could you train me in it, Shanks?"

The boys request startled the older man and he winced as he realized that there would be no easy way out of this one.

"Ah, well you see Luffy... Haki training takes years and as you know pretty soon my crew and I will have to set sail back to the Grand-Line. I'm afraid, I just don't have the time to teach you."

"But how will I get stronger? You said it was dangerous for me to use it by myself!"

Shanks raked his hand roughly through his red locks and sighed. "Yeah, that is a problem..." He mumbled, before an idea came to him. "Say, didn't you mention that your grandfather was Garp the Hero?"

Luffy nodded, beginning to dread what Shanks was going to say next.

"He knows Haki as well. Just get him to train you the next time he visits!"

The young captain pouted, but relented. It was probably for the best that his crazy gramps take over his training. He could rope Ace and Sabo into it as well. Garp was always willing to train them before.

They all needed to get stronger for what the laid in the future anyways. A head start for all of them would be the wisest choice.

As Luffy thought over the idea, he suddenly remembered the present Vegapunk had talked about. Once Shanks left there would be no one who could take him to that island beside his grandfather, who he knew would no never go for it, and by the time he sailed out on his own the gift would be long gone.

He glanced over slyly towards the red head and grinned when he saw the guilty look on the man's face. He had an idea.

"Okay, Shanks, I'll tell gramps to train me, but you gotta take me to this super special island instead!"

"What?! No way!"

"If you don't, I'll tell Makino I saw you kissing that girl who owns the fruit stand!"

 _Several hours later..._

Luffy found himself on board the Red-Haired pirates ship. He stood by the bow and gleefully overlooked the shimmering blue sea.

 _'Man, I've missed this!'_

"Shanks, how much further?"

The captain sighed with resignation and glared harmlessly at the little pain in his ass. "Well my navigator says another hour before we see it. How did you hear about this island anyway?"

Luffy grinned as he replied,"Oh, an old man told me there was a secret treasure there. I wanted it before it disappeared!" He was glad he had been smart enough to think up a plausible excuse before hand.

A red brow rose in surprise. "Old man? Well, that makes sense. I didn't even know it existed. My navigator didn't either until he found it on a hundred year old map. Wasure Island is accurately named."

Luffy snickered and turned his attention back to the swaying blue surface. His mind was tumbling with ideas and speculations as to what Vegapunk gifted them. He was known for his knowledge of Devil Fruits, maybe it was a special one.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **For those wondering this story is rated M to be on the safe side. I may or may not add sexually suggestive scenes in the future and some of the language could be a bit much considering how Sanji and Zoro curse among many others.**

 **Hope you enjoyed this second chapter!**


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